Archive for the ‘News/Nyheter’ Tag

MARQUETTE, Michigan — The Michigan Court of Claims has upheld a law empowering an appointed panel to allow hunting of wolves.

The state Legislature approved the Scientific Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act last August. It gave the Michigan Natural Resources Commission the authority to classify animals as game species. The commission already had given wolves that designation, which led to the state’s first authorized wolf hunt in 2013.

The law nullified two citizen votes last fall that would have prevented wolf hunts. A group called Keep Michigan Wolves Protected filed suit, saying the law violated the Michigan Constitution.

In a ruling issued Friday, Court of Claims Judge Mark T. Boonstra disagreed, writing that the group’s suit “fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.” He said the court was not taking a position on whether wolves should be hunted or not.

“That policy judgment is properly left to the Legislature and the people of the state of Michigan,” Boonstra said. “Rather, the sole question before this court is whether the legislative enactment in question violates the Michigan Constitution as alleged.”

A state spokesman praised the ruling.

“The citizen-initiated law gives authority to the Natural Resources Commission to regulate sport fishing in Michigan, aligning with the NRC’s authority to regulate the taking of game,” John Pepin, a Department of Natural Resources spokesman in Marquette, told The Mining Journal (http://bit.ly/1e0Sdwz ). “The act gives the NRC the authority to name game species. All of this supports sound scientific management of natural resources in Michigan.”

The Michigan United Conversation Clubs, a leading hunting and fishing group, also praised the decision.

“The court recognized that the Scientific Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act was about just what its title says, managing fish, wildlife and their habitats with sound science,” spokesman Drew YoungeDyke said in a statement.

The wolf protection group said it will appeal.

“The judge was clearly hostile to our case, and did not seriously address the key issues of the complaint,” said Keep Michigan Wolves Protected Director Jill Fritz. “We have good legal arguments and our next step will be to the Court of Appeals.”

Dog owners have been told to be on alert for a strain of canine flu that has sickened more than 1,000 across the Midwest.

The Associated Press reports that the virus has yet to appear in Minnesota, but that it has been detected in Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana, having believed to have originated in the Chicago area.

Tests by the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Library confirmed the strain as H3N2, AP reports, which is believed to have come from Asia and causes coughs, a runny nose and fever in dogs.

KSTP reports that the strain is highly contagious, has never been seen before in the United States, and has so far killed five dogs.

The TV station says that dogs are contagious for about two weeks and should be kept away from other dogs during that time should they develop the symptoms.

A fisherman managed to escape after his truck broke through the ice on Lake Minnetonka Wednesday night, but his dog didn’t make it out.

The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office told the Star Tribune the truck went through the ice near the Arcola Bridge, between Crystal Bay and Browns Bay, which was not a posted thin-ice area. He was on his way to his fish house on Lafayette Bay.

The 35-year-old man was able to climb out of the truck and pull himself onto a shelf of thin ice, where he yelled for help and was heard by a nearby resident. Four police deputies then formed a human chain to pull him to safety, the newspaper notes.

The man’s dog however, could not be rescued from the truck as it sank.

Victim rescued transported to hospital. He was conscious. Dog in the vehicle did not get out.

A Minnesota hunter had an elk confiscated after running afoul of hunting laws in Montana. And to make matters worse, it happened on reality TV.

Jim Latvala was delighted to bag a six-point bull elk while out hunting with his brother Warren in Montana, but his joy turned sour when he was approached by a warden – who in turn was followed by a TV cameraman, the Pioneer Press reports.

It turns out the cameraman was shooting for a reality TV show called Wardens, and he captured this particular warden handing out a $135 citation to the 65-year-old fishing guide from Two Harbors, Minnesota.

Latvala had failed to tag his elk immediately following his kill –which are the rules in Montana, but not Minnesota. The brothers feel that the presence of the cameraman made the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) warden hand out the citation.

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A hunter who survived a savage attack from a wounded bear has spoken for the first time about the terrifying fight for his life.

Brandon Johnson, 44, fought off the 525lb black bear he was tracking with a hunting knife after he was attacked in woods near Duxbury, Minnesota, on September 27.

He has spoken with KSTP about how the bear bit his face, arms, chest and leg while he stabbed it repeatedly in the head with his knife. The bear pretended to leave on two occasions only to resume its attack.

“At the very beginning I didn’t know where I was, I was looking up at the sky and this bear was biting my face. I didn’t know what happened, I didn’t see the bear coming,” he told KSTP.

“I felt its tooth going underneath my jaw. Just at that instance I said this isn’t a dream. I still…